Process of making smokeless powder.



No. 806,131. PATBNTED DEC. 5, 1905. G. W. GENTIEU & R. S. WADDELL.

lPROCLSS 0F MAKING SMOKELESS POWDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.14, 1905.

vIo

GEORGE. w. GENTIEUAND ROBERT s. WADDELL, voF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

To all whom it councerm vand ROBERT 'S.' WADDELL, lcitizens-oi fthe United States, residing at Peoria, in the countyl of Peoria and State of Illinois, have'invented-v certain new and `useful Improvements in Proc;- esses of Making Smokeless Powder; and we do hereby declare the following` to be afdll,y

clear, and exact description of the invention;-

such aswill enable others'skilled in the art to which it apprtains to make and use the same. Our invention consistsin the novel'features hereinafter described, reference bei-nghad-to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate 'one'form-of apparatus for carrying'our process into effect, and our invention is fully disclsed in the following description and claims.

Referring tothe 'saiddrawinga `Figure 14 represents an eievationof an improved apparatus which we prefer -to ,employ inV carrying our process into effect. Fig. 2 is adetail sectional view of the rotating 'stirrer-shaft of the apparatus, illustrating the means for intro# ducing compressed air and solvent through the stirring-arms. Fig. Bis a transverse sectional view on line 3 3.l of Fig. 2.

Our present invention relates tu the manu`y facture of smokeless gunpowder for .usein 'Shotguns and riiies, although We do not confine ourselves strictly to powder for. suchjuse;

and it consists in an improved process for pro ducing-an explosive from nitrocellulosey-"f 'One of the chief defects'in .smokeless powp ders made from nitrated cellulose is thei'nstability of the powder, caused by the process ofmanufacture, and anotherudiicult problem in its manufacture isv the. removal of the excess of solvent withoutthe use of excessive heat. Our process enables us to overcome both of these difficulties and results in a powder that does not deteriorate withage and is practically unaffected -by changes of atmospheric conditions. These beneficial results are' accomplished by ourlprocess and lproceed in part from the use of compressed air in the steps of the process, as hereinafter described, for-granulating the nitrocellulose and applying the solvent thereto and also from the use Y of a lower degree 'of heat in our process than Specification of Letters Patent. apuntan@ mta'tugw 14.1905. semi No; $74,194.

Pnocs'ss 0F MAKiNG sMoKELs-ss POWDER.

Patented Dec. 5, 1995.

'j thatv usually employed, thus preventing the' deterioration 'of the nitrocellulose which usually results from the use of excessive heat 'during manufacture.

lIncarrying"our improved process into eff.

feet we take nitrocellulose, pulped -by the 'well-known'v methods'and of the suitable de? gree lof nitration to makethe desired smokeless powders-#for example, those adapted for use in Shotguns and rifles, This pulped nitrocellulose Aafter it has been :thoroughly cleansed from acid and passed the necessary .heat test equal -to vthe requirements of the vUnited StatesGovernment and aftersthe surplus 'moisture has been removed'v frim 'it by treating it with a centrifugal wringer is placed in a suitable'vessel and treated with compressed air, which is preferably introduced into the mass adjacent to'thefbottom of lose is agitatedwvhich action 'may beaccomplislied4 by means of theV jets of compressed air or by meansof suitable stirring devices, or both, so that all the particles are uniformly subjected to the action of thecom pressed air, with the result that the pulped itrocllw. lose`is rapidly broken up .into porousgrains.

The nitrocellulose is then subjected to the.

action of the well-known solvents, such as ace-- tone and methyl or ethyl alcohol, in 'the necessary-proportions :to produce a retarded colthe samein a j 'et or jets. While being treated by the jets of compressed air, the nitrocellu-v leiding of the nitrocellulose grains; The sol- 4vent isfappliefld to the nitrocellulose by mingling .it with the compressed air and discharg-l ing it into the material in the form of spray, thus driving thefsolvent into the grains by the compressed air, and preferably agita-ting ously described, eitherby means of the jets of compressed air or by means of stirring 4de- .the material during its application, as previ vices, or'b'oth. Thisag'itation of-"thenitro-- A cellulose lifts and distributes the particles, so

that the solvent can be evenly and uniformly sprayed overall portionsof themass by means of the compressed air, which penetratestol allparts of the porous grains, colloiding thesaine with uniformity and producing-grainsoffthe requisite density. The compressed air as itz.

more clearly "understood, we have illustratedl is provided with a series of radial agitating-v hollow axle @Bbeing supported -byga stationary bracket E and passing through 'astuflng-- expands and=passes off from the material carries with it the vapors ofthe'solventyand thelair and vapor is collected' and condex'ised in aYV wellknown manner to receivel the.` ,solvent therefrom. After the desired quantity of s'l-" vent has been applied the compressed .air is' preferably heated to a` suitable temperature and the treatmentof the material therewith. continued to'remove the excess of solvent and partially dry the grains. rlhis action issatisfactorily accomplished at a very low temperature, the compressedl air being never heated to a temperature exceeding 430 centigrade, and the expanded heated air carrying the solvent vapor is'collected and condensed to recover the solvent, as above described.

1n order that our-improved process may be' in the accompanying drawingsan 'apparatus which we' 'preferto employ forcarrying the process' into effect. l 1 Y y In the drawings, `A represents a receptacle or-tank, preferably cylindrical in form, supported in any desired manner ,and provided with vmanholes at top and bottom. closed by* manhole-covers H and Hffor the introduction and removal of the nitrocellulose. A hollow shaft orl axleB passes through the cylindrical tank A, is mounted'in suitable bearings, and provided with driving means, such -as pulleys b, as shown, for driving it at various speeds. Within the tank A-the shaft B armsor stirring devices C, which are hollow and communicate with theinterior of the shaft and are preferably arranged spirallyon the shaft, as shown. A stationary compressed-- air pipe Ele'xtends into andA itswithin thel box and said lstationary pipe is providedA on its lower side with a series of air-ports J, which supply air to the various hollow arms or stirrers (Tas they' pass below afhc'i'ri'zontal position, so that the co'm'pressedai'r is supplied to the material in thebotto'm of the tank and must force its way into and through the material to escape.- We also .provide a series of jets or-nozzles ee e in the :bottom of the tank, 'communicating with a branch pipe E2 andcontrolled by'valves e2 e2 e2, and compressed 'airmay besupplied through these nozzles also, if desired.A A i F represents a pipe extending into the air. pipe E and provided with a suitable valve f, by which the solvent is introduced into the compressed air in pipe E and thence passes through the hollow stirrers or arms C and is sprayed into the material.

D represents a supply-pipe for' the compressed air, 4which is connected to both pipes E and E2, and said pipe D is provided with a steam-jacketd, to which steam may be admitted ,byy api'peoi', controlledy by asuitanlevalve d?, asshofwn; when it is .desiredA tolieat the 'compressed air to remove the excess of solvent yand,.partially dryI the grains.

"Gfrepresents an exhaust-pipe connected to riected' toasuitable condenser, (not sho\vn,)

where thefvapor ofthe solvent iscondensed, andthe air may be delivered therefrom to the air-compressing device connected to pipe D forsupplying the apparatus, thus using. the air over and over. y fr -f Y I In using this'apparatus to carry out our proeessthe'pulped nitrocellulose is charged into tank A by means of the manhole H, the shaft or axleB is revolved at the desired speed, and -compressed air-is admitted through pipe .E to the hollow arms Giyandfalso through-the pipe E2 vto the nozzles e', if desired,th u,s agitating the particles and subjecting'them toztlie action of compressed lair to granulate them.. The solvent is then admitted to pipe E through pipe F from a suitable source of supplyl'and will be sprayed into the materialwhile itis being agitated to uniformly colloid the grains,-

.after which steam is admitted to the steamjacket and the air heated not-toexceed 430 centigrade toreinove the excess of "solvent-and partially dry the grains. The grains are then removed from the tank by removing manholecover H and are ready to be sieved, formingr avaluable smokeless powder.

"To aid the combustion ofthe nitrocellulose, limited quantities 'of nitrate of potash, nitrate 4ofbarium, nitrate of soda, or other nitrates possessing the requisite percentage of oxygen may be addedat'any stage of-"the process,l if desired. v The apparatus shown and ldescribed for-ms the subject-matter of a separate application and is not claimed herein. What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described process forthe manufacture of explosives which consists in treating nitrocellulose wlth Jets of compressed air l and. agitating it, to break it up into porous grains, then forcingasolvent with compressed air into the lporous grains so formed, to uni formly colloid the same and continuing the agitation to preserve the granular formation, then introducing heated air under pressure and at comparatively low temperature into the material to remove the surplus solvent and dry the grains.

2. The herein-described process for the manufacture of explosives which consists in subjecting nitrocellulose to the action of jets of compressed air'and'agitating it, to break it up into porous grains, then forcing a solvent with lcompressed air into the porous grains, so formed, to uniformly colloid the same,and continuing the agitation to preserve the granular loo form, then removing the surplus solvent and drying the grains.

3. vln a process for the manufacture of explosives, treating nitrocellulose with jets of compressed air and while agitated, to break it up into porous grains, and forcing a solvent into said porous grains to uniformly colloid the same, substantiallyas described.

4. In a process for the manufacture of explosives, treating nitrocellulose With jets of compressed air and While agitated, to break it f up. into porous grains, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We aiix our signatures 1n the presence of witnesses.

GEORGE W. GENTIEU. ROBERT S. WADDELL.

Witnesses as to the signature of George W. Gentieu:

' WM. F. Donn,

L. P. WH'ITAKER. Witnesses as to the signature of Roberts. "Waddell:

. R. S. WADDELL, Jr.,

MABEL G. HANNUM. 

